Editorials—Details

If Guns Were Outlawed, Only Outlaws Would Have Guns

07/24/2010

"If guns were outlawed, only outlaws would have guns" is an old saying that is especially true in American Samoa, where gun control laws are strict and even the police do not carry weapons.  The point was well illustrated on Thursday when Det. Lt. Liusila Brown was gunned down on the lawn of the High Court by local hoodlum Siaumau Siaumau, Jr., who pulled a gun and shot Brown in front of several horrified witnesses, including other police officers.  Brown's own colleagues were powerless to stop Siaumau because they are not armed.  It was only after they were sure Siaumau had run out of bullets that officers were able to subdue him. 

Although gun control is a separate constitutional issue that will not be debated here, it is high time the police force in American Samoa is armed.  They cannot protect the public, nor themselves, when outlaws have guns and they don't.

--- talanei.com

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